Why?
- Dr. Mark Lerner
- Dec 9, 2024
- 1 min read
Updated: Dec 10, 2024
Technology is advancing faster than our ability to adapt.
by Mark D. Lerner, Ph.D.
Creator & Principal Consultant, AI-Integrated Emotional Wellness
In today’s increasingly technological world, we’re facing a hidden crisis: a deterioration of emotional wellness and a dramatic increase in mental health problems.
The story of a high school valedictorian, an Ivy League-educated young man with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science, is a horrific reminder of how today’s tech world, where we’re saturated with daily doses of streaming conflict and adversity, is compromising our well-being. Digital communication, including text messaging, email, mobile apps, games, social media, and video conferencing, is replacing genuine face-to-face interaction—leaving us overstimulated and emotionally isolated.
Correlated with this proliferation of technology is an alarming increase in mental health problems. Anxiety has become the most common mental illness in the United States, and depression is now the leading cause of illness and disability worldwide.
The National Center is committed to addressing this trend. By integrating AI with emotional wellness, AI-Integrated Emotional Wellness (AIEW) offers a powerful solution to navigate this rapidly shifting zeitgeist.
AIEW refers to the broad interface between the cognitive abilities of artificial intelligence and the complexity of human emotion. While acknowledging the irreplaceable importance of authentic, in-person communication, AIEW focuses on how artificial intelligence can foster emotional well-being.
The question is not why Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was assassinated but how we can take meaningful steps to reclaim emotional wellness and prevent further tragedies. Together, we must create a future where technology enhances, rather than undermines, humanity.
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